Wire-tightener



(No Model J. w. WEAR. WIRE TIGHTENERQ Patented Jan. 17, 1888.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Drrrcn.

JOHN W. WEAR, OF WALKER, MISSOURI.

WlRE-TIGHTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 1376,4594, dated January 1'7, 1888.

Application filed January 22, 1887. Serial No. 225,171. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN W. WEAR, of Walker, in the county of Vernon and State of Missouri, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Wire-Tighteners, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an improved wire-tightener for taking up the slack of wire;and it is intended especially for use in connection with ing broken away; and Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the improvement. 7

A pair of tongs, A A, have their jaws a provided with openings forming guides B for the wirebeing stretched, and adjacent to these guides I form the jaws with interlocking portions, one of said jaws having a notch or recess, 0, and the other a projection, c, to enter the saidrecess, these interlocking portions engagingwhen the tongs are closed and serving to bear all what may be termed lateral strain, consequent on the tension of the wires when the tongs are being rotated to twist the wires after the same have been tightened.

In connection with these tongs I use a hook, D, movable between the jaws to draw the wire therethrough, and also a straining device for drawing on said wire. In the construction shown, the-straining device consists of a drum or wheel, E, supported on the tongs and preferably journaled on the pivot-bolt F thereof, as shown. This drum or wheel E has a bandle, e, and is in practice joined with the wire to be stretched by a suitable connection. I have shown this connection as a wire, G, secured at one end to the hook D and having its other end fastened to the drum, which latter may have an eye, g, to facilitate such fastening.

It will be understood that the drum and its immediately-connected parts form what may be broadly termed a looper, the function thereof being to form a loop or bend between the edges of the j aws of the tongs for said jaws to grasp and twist, in the scribed.

The operation is simple and will be readily understood. In Fig. 1 the tightener is shown infull lines as when applied to the Wire it is desired to tighten. N ow, by turning the wheel or drumthe wire will be drawn in between the jaws a to any suitable extent, forming a loop, and when the wire has been drawn to the desired extent by pressing the 'jaws together and rotating thetongs the wire will betwisted 6 5 and the slack will be secured in ring form. This will be understood from the dotted lines, Fig. 1. By my invention it will be seen that a small or a considerable portion of the wire may be taken up; or,if the wire is very slack, 7O

two or more loops may be formed therein to draw it to the proper tension. I

The device is simple, strong, and can be furnished at a small cost.

Manifestly,the tighten er might'be made and sold independentof the connection for joining the drum or wheel with the wire and the said connection be supplied by the user; but it may be preferred, for convenience, to furnish the same complete for use.

By means of the link H,which embraces the handles of tongs A and is movable longitudinally along the same,such handles may be held closed while twisting the wire by the adj ustment of the link to the dotted position shown I in Fig. 1 r

I have notin this application sought to cover specifically a wire-tightener comprising a pair of tongs having their jaws provided with guides for the wire, alever pivotall y supported 0 on. said tongs, and a connection for j oining said lever with the wire to be tightened, as such subject-matter is claimed in a sepa'rate'application for patent filed by me August 24, 1887, Serial No. 247,787. r i 9 Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is-- Y 1. A wire-tighte'ner consisting of the tongs having their jaws provided with guides for the wire, a drum supported on said tongs, and

manner presently de- 4. In a wire-tightener, the combination,with the tongs, of a looper thereon to engage the x 5 wire at a point intermediate of the edges of the jaws of the tongs and form a loop or bend for the said jaws to grasp and twist, substantially as set forth.

JOHN W. WEAR.

Witnesses:

1?. l3. TURPIN, SoLoN O. KEMON. 

